Property Expert

But property expert Henry Pryor thinks differently. In fact, it ensures that the owners who leave their homes empty are being very calculating.

The cost incurred in leasing it, including the deterioration of the home, may exceed what is collected by the rent, he warns.

And, in the upper segment of luxury housing, many buyers are willing to pay more for the immaculate house.

“Some buyers do not want to live in a second-hand site; it’s the same as if they were buying a Rolls-Royce or an Aston Martin,” he says. “This applies even when they are buying a site that is five years old.”

Not all empty houses in London are luxury properties, explains the Empty Homes charity.

Many reflect everyday economic problems.

For example, the lack of money for the renovations that are required to rent the house.

Or when the property has been inherited by multiple owners, who need time to decide what to do with it, says Justin Parkinson of the BBC.

Immune to fines

Many warn of the adverse effect it has on the quality of urban life in an area when many homes are unoccupied.

Local authorities in England can charge an additional 50% in property tax to owners of empty houses for more than two years.

What is not necessarily going to convince the most affluent investors to act.

They also have the power to impose purchase orders on real estate.

For example, in 2009, in the very posh London district of Kensington, the authorities recommended the compulsory purchase of a house on a street where many properties are worth more than the US $ 1.5 million.

The measure was taken six years after the authorities were warned of a plague of mice in the area.